Zone

RS2 (Single Residential)

Zoning bylaw

City of Prince George Zoning Bylaw No. 7850, 2007

Homes allowed

Where the Province's small-scale multi-unit housing rules apply (a lot under 4,050 m² on City water and sewer, inside Schedule K, not heritage-protected; s. 5.18), up to 4 homes (3 on a lot of 280 m² or less) as a house, duplex, fourplex, row houses or a small apartment building; elsewhere one house with a secondary suite or a secondary dwelling (s. 10.2.5). No manufactured homes

Main uses

Houses, duplexes, fourplexes, row and stacked row houses, a small apartment building, a small community care facility; bed and breakfast, home business (type 3 only in the Home Business Overlay), a secondary suite, a secondary dwelling

Smallest lot for a subdivision

500 m², 15 m wide; at most 0.2 ha

Lot coverage

40%

Height limit

11 m and 3 storeys; accessory buildings 7 m, secondary dwelling 8 m

Setbacks

Front 4.5 m, sides 1.2 m (3.0 m on a street), rear 6.0 m; 3.0 m between main buildings. One side yard is 4.5 m where no driveway reaches the rear yard or a garage from a street or lane (s. 10.2.5)

Fewest homes provincial law requires

At least 4 homes (inferred from the zone's name): Prince George had 76,708 people in the 2021 census, over the 5,000 that brings the floor, and the lot is about 769 m² (over 280 m²: 4). At least 6 if it is within 400 m of a bus stop with a bus at least every 15 minutes (7 am to 7 pm on weekdays, 10 am to 6 pm at weekends); we don't check bus schedules. This holds if the lot is inside the urban containment boundary where the official community plan or a regional growth strategy draws one, connected to the local government's water or sewer, and not heritage-protected, in a transit-oriented area (which has its own, higher densities) or exempted as hazard land on a professional's report.

Short-term rentals (provincial rule)

The Province's principal residence requirement applies in Prince George (list in force from June 1, 2026): a short-term rental (under 90 days) is limited to the host's own home plus one secondary suite or garden suite on the same property. Land assessed as a farm (class 9) is exempt. Local bylaws, including the zone's own rules, can be stricter. Hosts anywhere in BC register each unit with the provincial registry.

The zone is for urban lots over 500 m² (s. 10.2.1).

Accessory buildings: 90 m² of ground floor in all, 7 m high, front 4.5 m, sides 1.2 m (3.0 m on a street), rear 1.2 m; a secondary dwelling adds up to 100 m² of ground floor, 8 m high, front 4.5 m, sides 1.5 m (3.0 m on a street), rear 1.5 m (s. 10.2.6).

A secondary dwelling is a detached carriage or cottage house, not a manufactured home, on approved permanent water and sewage systems (s. 2.3); the density rule counts only the suite, which is why having both is unclear.

A secondary suite or secondary dwelling can't share the lot with a bed and breakfast, agri-tourist accommodation or community care facility, and a bed and breakfast can't share a house with a suite (ss. 5.6.7, 5.7.6, 5.8.2).

Uses the bylaw doesn't list aren't allowed (s. 1.6.7). Short-term rental isn't a listed use, only bed and breakfast run by the people who live there (s. 5.8.3), so ask the City before renting a home by the night.

Other parts of the bylaw also apply: general rules (Section 4), specific uses (Section 5), landscaping (Section 6), parking (Section 7) and development permit areas (Section 8).

Our summary of Section 10.2 of City of Prince George Zoning Bylaw No. 7850, 2007, consolidated to 2026-08-31, checked 2026-10-02. Site-specific exceptions listed in the bylaw by legal description can add or change uses for one property.

Zoning is only one layer: development permit areas, the official community plan, the ALR, building and septic permits and provincial housing rules can add limits or allow more. Confirm with the City of Prince George's planning and development department before you buy or build.

The provincial floor is our summary of the small-scale multi-unit housing rules in the Local Government Act (ss. 481.3 and 481.4) and the Local Government Zoning Bylaw Regulation, checked 2026-10-04. Local governments had to bring their bylaws in line by June 30, 2024, and with the 2025 changes by June 30, 2026, so the zone's own rules usually allow at least these homes already; height, coverage, setbacks and parking still decide how they fit. Whether the lot is inside an urban containment boundary, on community water or sewer, or near a frequent bus stop isn't checked here: confirm with the local government before you buy or build.

Clear of steep slope and water setbacks

770 m² (100%)

In or within 30 m of mapped water

0%

Steeper than 30%, outside that strip

0%

15 to 30% slope

2%

On designated floodplain (counted as clear)

0%

Median slope

3%

Main slope direction

Mostly flat (slopes under 5%); measured by us on NRCan's lidar elevation model (Riverine Floodplain survey, 2019; 2 m grid)

Which way it faces

0% south (SE to SW), 0% north (NW to NE), 79% flat; the rest east or west

Estimated by us on Natural Resources Canada's lidar elevation model, from the Riverine Floodplain survey (2019): bare ground with buildings and trees taken out, read here on a 2 m grid, one dot on the plan per cell. Retaining walls, road cuts and ditches count as steep ground, and earthworks since the survey aren't shown. Slopes over 30% usually need a geotechnical engineer's report to build on; 15 to 30% is buildable with more work.

Not counted: zoning setbacks from the lot lines, room for a septic field and well (the Septic section screens for a field), easements and rights of way, and the local government's own slope or hazard development permit areas. What you can build names them where the local government publishes its map. A surveyor and the local government confirm where you can build.

December 21 (shortest day)

6 h 30 min of possible direct sun; 7 h 10 min on open ground

March 21 (about the same on September 21)

11 h 30 min; 12 h on open ground

June 21 (longest day)

16 h 30 min; 16 h 50 min on open ground

Noon sun on December 21

13° above level; the hills due south rise to 1°, 5.6 km away

Highest hills in the winter sun's path

3° above level to the south-west, 4.6 km away

Measured at

The middle of the lot, ground at about 608 m, from head height

Computed by us from the terrain only: trees, buildings and cloud aren't counted, so the sun that reaches a window or a garden is often less. The hours are possible direct sun, counted from when the sun's centre clears the hills, at head height at the middle of the lot; another spot on a hillside lot can differ.

The horizon is read from Natural Resources Canada's 30 m elevation model in 72 directions, out to 16 km: on its 30 m grid within 1.5 km, beyond that on a 120 m version of it, where single peaks can read a little lower than they are. The curve of the earth is taken into account.

The sun's path is from the standard solar position formulas. Hours are counted in sun time; clock times shift with daylight saving and with how far the lot is from its time zone's centre.

Check it on site: visit on a clear day in December or January, look at where the trees and buildings to the south fall, and ask neighbours when the sun leaves and comes back.

Capability class (1 best, 7 none)

Not rated, marked as a built-up area: about 100%

Map scale

1:50,000: describes the area, not the field

Mapped

1960s to 1990s (digitised 2015)

These classes rate how well the land suits ordinary field crops, from the soil and climate as surveyed decades ago. Drainage, irrigation or fill since then can change the real answer, and a map at this scale can miss a good or poor field. The Agricultural Land Commission weighs these classes when it decides applications.

If farming matters to you here, a professional agrologist (P.Ag.) can assess the soil on site.

These maps were drawn mostly in the 1980s and 1990s and cover only some rivers and lakes. Not being on one doesn't mean the land can't flood: ask the local government whether it has newer flood mapping, and whether its bylaws set a flood construction level or floodplain setback here.

Fires on the parcel

0

Fires within 2 km

1

Within 2 km in the last 30 years

0

Most recent nearby

1922 (540 ha, caused by people)

Largest nearby

1922 (540 ha, caused by people)

Causes on record within 2 km

1 caused by people

Fire perimeters mapped by the BC Wildfire Service since 1919, each with its size and the cause the Service recorded (lightning or people, sometimes unknown); older and small fires are less complete. Past fire is history, not a forecast: for insurance, ask about the fire protection area and the distance to the nearest fire hall.

Peak ground acceleration, 2% in 50 years (the code's design level)

0.064 g

Peak ground acceleration, 10% in 50 years

0.022 g

Short-period shaking Sa(0.2), the value the code uses for houses and other low buildings

0.15 g

The same value in city centres

Victoria 0.81 g, Vancouver 0.47 g, Kelowna 0.089 g, Prince George 0.064 g

These are the 2020 National Building Code's reference values at the lot's centre, on firm ground (site class C). Soft soil, fill or a slope can make shaking stronger; the site class and the values a building is designed for come from the building official or a geotechnical engineer.

2% in 50 years means shaking at least this strong has about a 1-in-2,500 chance in any year; 10% in 50 years, about 1 in 475. g is the acceleration of gravity. The comparison with Vancouver and the other cities is ours.

Liquefaction, earthquake-triggered landslides and tsunami aren't covered here; ask the local government whether it has mapped them.

On record on the lot or within 100 m

0

On record within 1 km

0

On record within 5 km

2

Nearest

2.7 km from the lot: a flowslide, date not recorded

Kinds within 5 km

earth slide 1, flowslide 1

With a date

none of the 2

This is a list of landslides that are known to have happened, gathered from published inventories and from mapping on satellite images and lidar. It isn't a hazard map: it doesn't say how likely a slide is here, and no record nearby doesn't mean the ground is stable. Some parts of BC (the Fraser Valley and Fraser Canyon, Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, recent burn areas) are mapped in far more detail than others.

Each point mostly marks where a slide started. Debris can travel well past it, down a creek channel and onto the fan at the creek's mouth, so a lot on a fan or below a steep slope can be reached by a slide that began kilometres away. Distances are measured by us from the lot's boundary.

The kind of slide and its date are the database's own, mostly worked out from images, so treat them as a first look. Confirm with the local government, many of which have mapped steep-slope or debris-flow hazard areas, and with a geotechnical engineer.

Health region (regional figure, not this lot)

Northern Interior

Homes tested here

208

At or above 200 Bq/m³ (the guideline)

25 (12%)

At or above 600 Bq/m³

4

Across BC

143 of 1,817 homes (7.9%) at or above the guideline

Radon comes up from the ground and differs from one house to the next, even next door, so a regional figure says nothing certain about one home. The only way to know is a long-term test of at least 3 months. Health Canada's guideline is 200 Bq/m³ in the parts of a home where people spend more than 4 hours a day; above it, fix it within a year, and the higher the level, the sooner. For a home you buy, Health Canada suggests a long-term test once you've moved in.

The survey tested about a hundred volunteer homes per health region, with one long-term test each. That gives a rough regional picture: it isn't a map, and a region where few or none tested high can still have homes above the guideline. The survey grouped homes by the 2007 health regions; we place the lot by today's boundaries for the same areas.

Federal sites within 2 km

0

This inventory lists only contaminated sites on federal land or that the federal government is responsible for: military land, ports and harbours, airports, fisheries and research stations, reserve land, national parks and similar. Most contaminated sites in BC, such as old gas stations, dry cleaners and industrial land, are on the Province's Site Registry, which charges for searches and isn't shown here. Ask the seller what the land and its neighbours were used for; a Phase I environmental site assessment covers it properly.

Each site is one point given by its federal custodian, and a large site such as a base or an airport reaches well past it. Distances are measured by us from the lot's boundary to that point.

Confirm with the local government and a qualified environmental professional.

Over the parcel

None

Within 1 km

2 placer claims

Titles change often; this is the record when checked. Mineral Titles Online shows the current map.

At-risk species or ecosystems on the parcel

None recorded

Within 500 m

None recorded

Wide-ranging species mapped over it

Gypsy Cuckoo Bumble Bee (Red-listed)

Secured records in the wider area

No

Wildlife Habitat Area over the parcel

No

Ungulate winter range over the parcel

No

Red-listed species are at risk of being lost from BC; Blue-listed are of special concern. A record shows where the species was found, sometimes decades ago; no record doesn't mean nothing lives here, since most land has never been surveyed.

Species at risk can still limit building through local environmental development permit areas or federal critical habitat: ask the local government before planning work.

Cutblocks applied for (1 km)

0

Approved, not yet logged (1 km)

0

Logged in the last 5 years (1 km)

0

Crown land applications (1 km)

None

Quarry, industry, energy or tower tenures (500 m)

None

Local development applications

Not covered here: we read applications only where the local government publishes them as open data (the CSRD, the City of Surrey, the City of Abbotsford and the District of Squamish). Ask the City of Prince George what's in progress on and near the lot

Nearest power line (200 m)

None mapped within 200 m

Major projects in assessment (10 km)

None

Major projects approved (10 km)

Hart Water Supply Improvements Fishtrap Island Collector Well (groundwater extraction; about 2 km away; certificate issued Feb 26, 2004, operating)

Reviewed, no assessment needed (10 km)

Prince George Wood Residue Fired Cogeneration (power plant; about 6.8 km away; reviewed Nov 17, 2003: no assessment needed)

Closed or not reviewable (10 km)

None

Cutblocks are from the province's forest tenure records, which cover Crown forest licences and woodlots, not logging on private land. Crown land applications are on the province's tenure register; the Applications, Comments and Reasons for Decision site takes public comments on them. Mineral and placer claims are in their own section above.

Major projects are those large enough to need a provincial environmental assessment: mines, power plants, pipelines, transmission lines, highways, ports, dams and resorts, among others. Each is on the Environmental Assessment Office's register at a single point, the location it gives for the project. A mine, pipeline, transmission line or road can reach well past that point, so a project listed 8 km away can still pass the lot, and one placed beyond 10 km isn't listed here. Each project's page on the EAO's site has its maps, documents and comment periods; distances are measured by us from the lot line to the point. Smaller projects (subdivisions, smaller pits and quarries, and other works under the assessment thresholds) aren't on this register.

Power lines are from two maps read together: the Province's map of high-voltage transmission lines (BC Hydro's, private and independent producers' lines), which leaves voltages out, and OpenStreetMap, where volunteers map lines and record the voltage where it's known. Smaller distribution lines along streets aren't included. Distances are measured by us from the lot line to the mapped line, which can sit some metres off the real one. The line's right of way, and what it lets the line's owner do on the land, is set by the easement on title, which is the definitive record: check it in the title search, and ask BC Hydro (or the line's owner) about clearances for building and trees.

Nearest railway (2 km)

A main railway line (Nechako Subdivision, Canadian National Railway, VIA Rail), about 530 m from the lot line

Nearest highway or major road (2 km)

Cariboo Highway (Highway 97), a highway, about 1.2 km from the lot line

Nearest airport or airstrip (2 km)

None mapped within 2 km

Distances only, not a measured noise level; noise depends on traffic, trains per day and terrain. Measured by us in a straight line from the lot line to the mapped centreline of the track or road, or to the edge of an airport's mapped grounds (to its point where only a point is mapped); a mapped line can sit some metres off the real one.

Railways are OpenStreetMap's track in use: main, branch and industrial lines, sidings and yards, and rapid transit; lines mapped as disused or abandoned, and track in tunnels, are left out. "Main line" is how OpenStreetMap's mappers class the line. Highways and major roads are the roads OpenStreetMap classes as motorway (a freeway), trunk (a highway) or primary (a major road). Airports and airstrips are every aerodrome OpenStreetMap maps, public or private, with its type where mapped; heliports aren't included. Airport noise exposure maps (the NEF contours some airports draw) aren't open data, so they aren't used.

Visit at rush hour and at night, ask the seller how often trains pass, and confirm with the local government whether a noise bylaw, a development permit area or an airport zoning regulation covers the lot. For a railway, the railway company or Transport Canada can say how many trains use the line; for an airport, ask the airport about flight paths.

Community water

No open map of the City of Prince George's water service: ask the City of Prince George whether the lot is on it

Wells within 2 km

20

Median depth

32 m

Median tested yield

1419 L/min (10 wells tested)

Median water level below ground

7 m

Aquifer 92 under the lot

Lower Nechako River: unconfined sand and gravel (medium stream system); productivity high, vulnerability high, demand high; 423 wells linked, median depth 32 m

Neighbours' wells show what drillers found nearby, not what a new well here will find; many wells were never registered. For a property on a well, ask for a recent flow test and water quality test.

Productivity is how much water the aquifer gives up to wells; vulnerability is how easily a spill at the surface could reach it; both are the province's ratings for the whole aquifer, not this lot. Mapped aquifers cover mostly settled valleys: a lot outside every outline can still have groundwater. Confirm with a qualified hydrogeologist or registered well driller.

Community sewer

No open map of the City of Prince George's sewer service: ask the City of Prince George whether the lot is on it

Recorded water-supply wells within 30 m

None recorded within 30 m

Mapped water within 30 m

None mapped

Within the setbacks, under 15% slope (gravity fields, mounds and trenches)

440 m² (58%)

Within the setbacks, under 25% slope (mounds, at-grade beds and trenches)

450 m² (58%)

Within the setbacks, under 45% slope (trenches)

450 m² (58%)

Screening, not a site assessment: measured by us on the same elevation cells as the buildable area, against the separations in the Province's Sewerage System Standard Practice Manual: a field stays 30 m from a drinking-water well (60 to 90 m from a high-pumping one), 30 m from a lake, river or permanent stream (15 m from seasonal water and the sea), 7.5 m from a downslope drain or bank where effluent could break out, and, as a guideline, 3 m from the lot line. We use 30 m for every mapped stream. A gravity field isn't allowed on slopes over 15%, a mound or at-grade bed over 25%, and trenches over 45%.

Under the Sewerage System Regulation, only an Authorized Person (a Registered Onsite Wastewater Practitioner or a professional engineer or geoscientist) may plan and install a system, and they file the plans with the regional health authority before work starts. They dig test pits to check the soil depth and the seasonal water table and measure how fast the soil drains, which no open map shows. Ask the seller for the filing and maintenance records of an existing system, and have it inspected.

Well locations in GWELLS are often approximate, and many wells were never registered: look for well caps on and next to the lot. Wells, water lines and septic fields on the neighbours' land count too.

If the lot is on a community sewer, none of this applies; ask the local government, which may also set larger setbacks or a minimum lot size for septic.

Nearest hospital

University Hospital of Northern British Columbia, Prince George: 3 km

Next nearest hospital

St. John Hospital, Vanderhoof: 80 km

School catchment

Not mapped for this lot: catchments are shown only where the school district's boundaries are open data, for Surrey Schools (Surrey and White Rock) and the North Vancouver School District (the City and District of North Vancouver). Ask the school district which schools serve it.

Nearest public elementary school

Quinson Elementary, Prince George: 900 m

Nearest public secondary school

D. P. Todd Secondary, Prince George: 1 km

Independent schools within 10 km

6

Nearest grocery store

Save-On-Foods: 1.4 km

Grocery stores within 10 km

7

Nearest fire station

Prince George Fire Rescue Hall 2 Ospika: 1 km, on the Province's list

Nearest ambulance station

Ambulance station 501, Prince George: 3 km

Distances are straight lines from the middle of the lot, measured by us. The drive is longer, and much longer where the road winds, crosses water or takes a ferry.

Hospitals are from the Province's list. Not every hospital has a 24-hour emergency department, and some small towns have a health centre with emergency care that isn't on this list: check with the regional health authority.

Which school a child goes to depends on the school district's catchment, not on distance: ask the district.

A fire station nearby doesn't mean it covers this lot: confirm the fire protection area with the local government. Insurers price fire cover by the road distance to the hall that responds and whether the lot is inside a fire protection area.

Fire halls and ambulance stations are from the Province's First Responders list (updated 2026-09-11), with fire stations it lacks added from OpenStreetMap. A hall that has moved may still be listed at its old address.

An ambulance station is where crews are based. How soon one arrives depends on where the crew is when the call comes.

Grocery stores are from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers: one may be missing, closed or mapped in the wrong place.

Confirm services with the local government.

Best speed recorded within about 1 km

50/10 Mbps or faster

Over a wired line (cable, fibre or DSL)

50/10 Mbps or faster

Over fixed wireless

50/10 Mbps or faster

LTE mobile within about 1 km

recorded

Nearest place with 50/10 Mbps or faster

within about 1 km (about 100 m)

Data

ISED National Broadband Data, May 2026

This is the service providers report to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) for homes and roads near the lot, not a quote: ask providers whether they serve this address, at what speed and at what cost to connect.

Speeds are download/upload bands. 50/10 Mbps is ISED's top band, so a place in it can get much faster service, and it is the CRTC's target for every Canadian home.

A line that reaches homes within 1 km may stop short of this lot; bringing it further can cost the buyer. Fixed wireless and LTE need a clear line to the tower, which hills and tall trees can block.

Satellite service doesn't need nearby lines, but it needs a clear view of the sky.

Distances are straight lines from the middle of the lot, measured by us on a grid of about 250 m.

Nearest climate station

Prince George treatment plant, 5.8 km away

Station elevation

579 m

Lot elevation (estimated, middle of the lot)

608 m

January mean temperature (1981-2010)

−6.7 °C

July mean temperature (1981-2010)

16.6 °C

Yearly precipitation, rain and snow as water (1981-2010)

558 mm

Yearly snowfall (1981-2010)

142 cm

Frost-free period (1981-2010)

128 days a year*

Average last spring frost (1981-2010)

May 15*

Average first fall frost (1981-2010)

September 21*

Period

1981-2010

Plant hardiness zone (regional)

4b

Normals are 30-year averages at the station, not readings for this lot. In BC's mountains a few hundred metres of elevation, a north-facing slope or a lakeshore can change winters a lot: a hillside lot can be much colder and snowier than a valley station.

The lot's elevation is our estimate from Natural Resources Canada's 30 m elevation model at the middle of the lot.

The hardiness zone is from Natural Resources Canada's 2025 map, read by us on a grid of about 2 to 3 km: near a zone's edge, or well above or below the valley around it, the lot may fall in the next zone. It is a guide to which plants survive the winter, not a frost date.

* Based on fewer years than the WMO standard: these figures rest on at least 15 of the 30 years, short of the World Meteorological Organization's standard of nearly all of them. ECCC publishes them as normals; treat them as a rougher guide.

ECCC's 1981-2010 normals for this station don't include days with snow on the ground or the lowest temperature recorded, so those are left out rather than guessed.

Frost dates are averages: in about half of years the last spring frost comes later than the date shown, and frost pockets in hollows and valley bottoms get it later still.

ECCC has no fuller 1991-2020 set for this station, so these are its 1981-2010 normals; recent years have run warmer than them in most of BC. Ask neighbours or the local government about snow on the road and who clears it.

Local government

Prince George

Residential rate, 2026

9.7125 per $1,000

Municipal

6.497 per $1,000

Regional district

0.44813 per $1,000

Regional hospital district

0.72437 per $1,000

School (set by the Province)

2.0047 per $1,000

Other

0.0383 per $1,000

BC municipalities' middle rate

6.24337 per $1,000

Your bill uses BC Assessment's value for the property, which can differ from its price, and may also include parcel taxes and utility fees (water, sewer, garbage) that aren't rates on value.

The home owner grant takes up to $570 off the bill of a home its owner lives in ($770 in the Province's northern and rural area in 2026, and up to $845, or $1,045 there, for seniors, veterans and people with a disability), for homes assessed at $2,075,000 or less in 2026; above that it shrinks by $5 for each $1,000. From 2027 the northern and rural extra ends and the regular grant is $570 everywhere. The owner applies each year, and must pay at least $350 in tax ($100 for the higher grant) after it.

Rates are set each May for the year; the next year's will differ.

Police service

The Prince George RCMP (municipal)

Crime severity index, 2025

194 (BC 92)

Violent / non-violent index

224 / 183 (BC 98 / 91)

Crime severity index, 2015

142 (BC 93)

Break and enter, per 100,000 people, 2025

552 (BC 281)

Theft of a vehicle, per 100,000 people, 2025

292 (BC 138)

Theft from a vehicle, per 100,000 people, 2025

746 (BC 441)

Violent crime, per 100,000 people, 2025

3,275 (BC 1,531)

All Criminal Code offences (not traffic), per 100,000 people, 2025

17,315 (BC 6,943)

The crime severity index weighs each offence by how serious it is (one assault counts for more than several thefts), with Canada in 2006 set at 100. Rates are per 100,000 people living in the police service's area, so places with many visitors, commuters or seasonal homes read high, and in small places a few incidents swing the figures a lot. These are crimes reported to police, not all crime.

In BC only Surrey, the Township of Langley, Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam publish reported property crime block by block under an open licence; reports there count what was reported within 500 m of the lot. The police here don't, so the figures above are for the whole area they cover.

Police calls to a particular address aren't published in BC (privacy law keeps police records about identifiable people closed), and neither is whether a home was used as a grow-op or drug lab: that shows up as a notice on the title. Ask the seller for the Property Disclosure Statement, and your lawyer for the title search.